Chapter Text
Kagami was 12 years old when his soulmate marks first presented. 7 unique marks linked by a chain rested just on his left shoulder; though small, each one had a visibly different design. His own one being the shape of a burger (Tatsuya couldn’t stop laughing when he found out).
At first he thought Tatsuya had played a prank on him, using temporary tattoo stickers on Kagami when the latter was asleep. Only when Kagami realised that he couldn’t wash them off even after a few days had passed, that he started panicking.
It was only 2 days later when Kagami was ready to break this ground-breaking news to Alex and Tatsuya, that he found out he wasn’t going to die.
Hands clutching her stomach from laughing too hard— (though Kagami didn’t think it was very funny, he literally thought that he was going to die)—Alex said, “Taiga, maybe it’s time to lay off the manga and pay attention to class. Those “curse marks” you’re talking about are soulmate marks, the mark corresponding to your soulmate will gain colour after you meet them, and the entire mark will burn once you've met them all.”
“Shut up! Stop teasing me! No one’s ever told me about this stuff, okay? And it’s not like they teach it at school anyways.” Kagami retaliates, cheeks burning with embarrassment and not appreciating the teasing from Alex and Tatsuya.
“Taiga, they do teach us this. You just never listen.” Tatsuya recovers from laughing and says with a smile.
Kagami sends Tatsuya a dirty look from the corner of his eyes and sits on the floor in defeat. “Man, it’s not my fault, who listens during class anyways?”
Alex, finally done laughing, ruffles Kagami's hair and says with that wide smile she always wears, “Well, you’ve got nothing to worry about Taiga. They’re the people who are gonna love you the most. They’ll love you even more than Tatsuya and I do. And you’ve got 6 of them! That’s 6 times the love.”
They sit in a few moments of silence before Kagami asks, uncharacteristically soft and eyes trained to the ground,
“How do you know they will?”
“Sorry?”
“How do you know they’ll love me?”
Alex’s eyes widen at the question before a look of sadness passes her face “I just know they will kiddo. They’re your soulmates, of course they’ll love you.”
Kagami clenches his fists. That’s what his parents said too, when they told him that they’re no longer gonna be together. Yet, 2 years later, he sees his dad only three times a week, five if he’s really lucky, and his mom hasn’t even talked to him more than twice since he came to the states.
Before Kagami even has a chance to reply, Himuro sits next to him and takes his hands into his own,
“It’s okay Taiga! If your soulmates don’t love you, I’ll beat them up and make sure they do! And even if they don’t, who needs them anyways? You have me! And Alex!”
“Tatsuya! You little- You can’t just say that!” Alex smacks Himuro’s head. Hard.
“It’s true! I’m his big brother, it’s my duty” He pouts. One hand still holding Kagami’s and the other nestling the area on his head where Alex had just hit him.
“Still!”
“R-really?” Kagami looks up hesitantly at Himuro, only for the latter to respond with a rib-crushing hug.
“Really.”
Kagami rubs his ring and thinks back to the memory fondly. Tatsuya was right. It didn’t matter. He’s given it some thought after that day, more than his brain would usually allow. Sure, he’s considered extremely lucky to have 6 soulmates at once, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Not since the day he was left alone yet again in that cold and empty home, where the only things he had for comfort were his mangas and the basketball Tatsuya had given him; and the only birthday wishes he received from those he loved were the brief messages on his phone. He decided then that he’d do just fine on his own. Parents or not, soulmates or not.
(He blows out the candles for his 15th birthday. His phone lights up and he deflates when he sees it’s just his father sending him well wishes for his birthday, telling him to be good in Japan and that he’ll be there as soon as he can. Kagami clears the notification and sets his phone back on the table.
He’s spent the last few birthdays alone. What’s a few more?)
Kuroko's a weird guy. The Generation of Miracles are even weirder.
They look at him weird and sneak glances at him when they think he's not looking. Kagami can't tell if they're plotting to kidnap him or murder him, but he thinks he'll write it down somewhere on his phone so the police know where to find him just in case they do go ahead with the plan. It'll probably be a really good plan too. Midorima, Kuroko and Momoi's there, they're pretty smart. But at the same time he thinks Kise might just pull some stupid shit like releasing his restraints so they could play basketball and ruin the whole plan; and that idiot Aomine might just fall asleep instead of keeping an eye on him like he’s supposed to. Just the thought of them being part of the "Kidnap and Kill Kagami Taiga" plan makes Kagami feel much better about his chances. Okay, but seriously, he should write this down somewhere in his notes app, maybe—
"Kagami-kun, it's time for dinner. Let's go eat."
"UWAH! WHAT THE– Kuroko… you really need to stop that. If I really die from this one day, just know my ghost will be coming back to haunt you." Kagami says with as much seriousness as one can muster after their soul has left their body, while the cause of his almost cardiac arrest just cocks his head and shrugs,
"But Kagami-kun was the one that was spacing out. You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, you know. And don’t say that, I’m scared of ghosts, I think Kagami-kun’s the one that’s going to give me a heart-attack."
This little– Scratch whatever he was thinking. He doesn't need to rely on those two to increase his chances of survival, he can just kill Kuroko and take a man off the planning team.
Yeah. That works.
“Kagamicchi! Kurokocchi! There you are! Hurry hurry, let’s go eat or there won't be any food left! Midorimacchi’s already gone ahead! Hurry! Hurry!”
Just as Kagami’s choosing between strangling Kuroko or pushing him onto a busy road, Kise comes out of nowhere and physically drags the both of them to the shared cafeteria arranged by Seirin, Kaijo and Shuutoku for their combined practice camp.
–
It was only at the cafeteria that Kagami gets reminded that— Kuroko's a weird guy. The Generation of Miracles are even weirder. But the way Kuroko and the Generation of Miracles interact is definitely the weirdest .
He might be clueless at almost everything but basketball, but even he can tell that there’s something off between them.
Kagami had his suspicions but now he thinks he has a theory.
He sees the lingering looks they send each other’s way, and the distant yet fond look they have whenever they reminisce about the good times in Teiko. He also sees Midorima sliding Kuroko and Kise their lucky items in their hands under the table during breakfast when he thinks no one’s watching. But the nail in the coffin for Kagami would probably be the way Aomine spoke about Kuroko to him when they first met—hell, the way ALL of them spoke about each other —if Kagami was crazy, he'd say it sounded like a possessive lover laying claim to their ex, or a lover showing off their significant other. He hasn’t even met the last two yet and his instincts tell him they’ll act the same way as these 4 do.
And now, right in front of his curry, he sees Midorima blushing at Kise’s jokes while Kuroko has the softest look on his face.
Yeah. He has a theory.
Kagami tries not to think much about it. He really does try. He doesn’t want to pry into their business; into Kuroko’s business. But he’s only human and he has a really good theory. And judging from the way the rest of the team stares and observes the interactions between Kuroko and the Miracles like he does (hawk-eyes them as Izuki-senpai would say), they probably have the same theory as him.
And like everyone else, Kagami has questions.
But because Kagami knows it’s rude to ask, and because Kuroko has such a pained look whenever the less good-sides of Teiko and the current state of things is mentioned, that he knows to keep those questions to himself.
(“Kagami-kun, you’re staring at my food again. Was your meal not enough? I can give you some of mine if you’d like.”
“Nah, I was just spacing out.”)
His shoulder burns. It shouldn’t.
Kagami’s walking back to the locker room with Kuroko and Furihata when he feels his left-shoulder burn. While Akashi had unsettled him, seeing all 5 of the Generation of Miracles gathered in one place only pumped him with even more adrenaline than he had after he landed in Japan. Then he had tried to burn some of it off by stretching to prevent himself from having a heart attack on the spot. Maybe he accidentally pulled a muscle from stretching too hard?
He excused himself to the toilet to check, eyes widening as it stopped in the area where his soulmate mark was supposed to be.
The marks that were previously dull on his left-shoulder, were now coloured.
Ever since he decided he didn’t care for soulmates anymore, he had stopped checking his shoulder like he used to when he was young. That once childlike wonder and excitement at meeting his "destined-ones" long-gone.
Now, it felt like his world had stopped. He doesn’t know if he feels excitement or dread. From the way his mark is burning, he must've just met his last soulmate. Or maybe all of them at once? He racked his brain to find where he might’ve even met all his soulmates when it clicked.
Oh.
Oh.
There’s no way. There is no fucking way. Absolutely not. He was not dealing with this shit today.
Kagami refused to even think about the possibility. So he shoved it to the back of his mind, washed his face, and stepped back to the locker room.
He had more important things to worry about.
("Kurokocchi. All of our marks are... completed now. Even Akashicchi knows too. What are we gonna do?
"...... I don't know Kise-kun. ... I really don't.")
Kagami had been so swamped by practice and preparation for the Winter Cup that he genuinely forgot about the matter until after the match with Kaijou.
"...and that's why I'm determined to defeat the 5 of them. For Ogiwara-kun, and for..." Kuroko's voice faltered, and his gaze dropped to his wrists, eyes filled with an aching longing Kagami's all too familiar with. Kuroko doesn't, couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence, as if the weight of what he was about to say silenced him. The air in the room gets heavier, and Kagami thinks he can't breathe. He purses his lips and looks to the ground, thinking of something, anything to say.
Only when Kagami thinks he’s about to have an aneurysm, did Kiyoshi-senpai–God bless his soul– break the tense silence by asking the question no one has dared to ask for the entire year.
“Forgive me for asking this Kuroko-kun, but are they your soulmates?”
The upperclassmen and coach slapped him at the same time.
“That’s too sensitive/straightforward, you idiot/blockhead!”
“Kuroko-kun, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Coach said in the kindest voice she could muster, but before she could even finish her sentence, Kuroko cut her off.
“Yes. Yes, they are.” His voice was laced with melancholy, regret and affection all in one.
And though Kagami had no experience in love, no interest in soulmates; he still knew what it was like to yearn for those who were once dear, what it was like to mourn the memory of what once was.
And because he knew not words of comfort, he told Kuroko what he thought mattered the most: What connected the both of them, all of them– “Let’s win the final battle. For Seirin. For you. For us. And for them too… I guess.”
He brought up the rest of them as an afterthought–what he thought was a botched attempt at comforting Kuroko. But seeing how the latter had clenched his fists and reopened his eyes with what seemed to be new-found determination makes Kagami think he's made the right choice.
Hey, maybe he wasn't so bad at this after all. The issue about his very own mark, well, they can deal with it after they win. This was neither the time nor place.
He smiles the widest smile he can manage at Kuroko, raising his hands for a fistbump; wanting to convey in action what he could not say– "It's okay, we've got this. We'll get them back to you. All of them."
When Kagami sees that smile he’s become so familiar with, gets that fistbump that sends goosebumps running down his back that he thinks,
"Yeah, we'll be just fine."
(Since that day, Kuroko has had a hard time meeting his eyes.
Kagami doesn’t notice.)
Kagami looks down at his bowl and realises he’s over-beaten his eggs. They’re now hard, dry and curdled. He huffs in annoyance and throws the mixture away. He washes his hands and pinches his nose bridge. It’s been a long day—No. It’s been a long few weeks.
Seirin’s victory against Rakuzan marked the official defeat of the last member of the Generation of Miracles, and it’s safe to say everything’s gone back to normal for the 5 of them and Kuroko. The 6 of them go on dates together almost every week, calling and texting whenever they can.
He knows this because Kuroko and the Miracles insist on giving him regular updates (that he never asked for) about their relationship. Yes, the Miracles too because somehow, the Miracles started texting him regularly, and they've become so close that they’ve added him into their... group chat. That he almost never texts in because… what is he supposed to say exactly?
Other than that, the 6 of them also regularly invite him out to play basketball together with them as well—which he has blown off SEVERAL times because he feels like he’s intruding on “date-time”. But Kuroko and the Miracles don’t seem to think they’re dates because they apparently have separate days for that. But despite him constantly declining their invites, they’re still pretty damn insistent on getting him to go.
Usually Kagami would jump at any opportunity to play basketball with such strong players, his friends too, but he's currently trying to avoid the 6 of them. Even though he’s already decided that he wasn’t going to bring up his suspicions about his soulmark to Kuroko at all and act like everything’s fine, he can’t help but get this weird feeling in his chest and a bad taste in his mouth whenever he sees them so close. And he feels even worse whenever he remembers how they only see him as a friend, which is why they’re comfortable with inviting him to crash their not-date in the first place. Even though they probably know he’s their soulmate, even though they haven’t talked about it. Maybe, if they asked…
He snaps from his train of thought with a deep blush to his cheeks. He scrubs the bowl even harder than before. This . This has been happening more often to him too. These… thoughts that he’s been having about the 6 of them. Of thinking that there’s even the possibility of them accepting him as a soulmate.
He’s even tried asking Tatsuya about it, but all he got was a cryptic laugh and a, “My little brother’s really growing up. Taiga, I really want to help you, but I think this is something you need to figure out for yourself. Why do you think you have these thoughts?” Yeah. That’s so helpful. If Kagami knew he sure as hell wouldn’t be asking him. Thank God for older brothers. What would you do without them?
Either way, it didn’t matter, because Kagami didn’t care. He’s fine with this and he’s going to take this to his grave. He’s made his peace with not having any soulmates a long time ago, and that hasn’t changed even if he’s met his soulmates now. They’re happy without him, and that’s okay. He can be there as a friend. If they’re pretending like nothing’s happening, they probably don’t want him either way. He’s fine with that. After all, They’ve known each other for so long, and he’s just…him. He doesn’t think he’s in the position to ask for or expect anything. And so he keeps quiet, and he’s willing to continue to play the part of a friend. If that’s what they want, he’s fine with it.
Yeah. He doesn’t care.
—
Kagami sighs and puts the now-clean bowl on the drying rack. He looks at the clock, only 2PM. He dries his hands and reaches out for his phone that he hasn’t checked since the morning, only to see that he’s been bombarded with walls of texts from none other than the MiraGen. Oh yeah. It’s a Saturday today and they had invited Kagami for a match today, which he declined. Though he never thought they’d cancel the entire day’s plans just because of that. Maybe they weren’t lying to him after all when they said they had separate days for dates.
—
>Akashi (02/12; 7AM): Good morning, Taiga. How are you? I suppose you’re not awake at this time of the day yet, I know you only take your morning jogs at around 10am. Today is a Saturday, what a good day isn’t it? I think I’m going to read a few books and catch up on revision. What are you planning to do today?
Speaking of which, in light of your absence today, we have decided to shift the meeting to the next weekend, Saturday as well. All of us are going to be playing at the basketball court near your house. We realise that you might still have some pressure texting in the group chat, so we have decided to each ask you individually today. So do not be alarmed if everyone starts texting you at once.
Personally, I hope you will be able to join us this time. It has been a while since we have last seen each other. I know we have been texting, but it is my wish to be able to see you in person. Though, it is always fun guessing what your new excuse would be. Regardless, please do join us. Please do join me. I look forward to your reply.
>Akashi (02/12; 10.30AM): Good morning Taiga. Have you awoken? Have you gone for your run yet? How was it? Within the 3 hours since I've last texted, I've had breakfast and practiced some violin. Have you had your breakfast yet? Today we tried out an English breakfast. I can't say it's exactly to my liking, but I'm not picky either. I’m starting to pick up a new score, and I’d really like to get your thoughts on my playing. Let me know what you think.
Oh. And I hope for a positive reply soon. Take your time.
(Attached is a video of Akashi playing the violin)
>Akashi (02/12; 12PM): Good afternoon Taiga. I see you’ve not yet checked your texts yet. I know you always strive to reply to your friends’ messages. It’s a quality I’ve always admired about you. I’m currently having lunch. We’re having Nigiri with Miso Soup on the side today. What are you having today? Do let me know. You know I love to eat your cooking. The meal I’m having is good, but nothing comes close to what you make for me whenever I come over.
Are you busy? You usually never take this long to reply. When you’re free. Let me know how your day went.
Here, a picture of my lunch. I hope you are eating well.
(Attached is a photo of Nigiri with Miso Soup)
—
>Midorima (02/12; 8.30AM): Good morning, Kagami. Your lucky item today is a comb. Oha-Asa says Leo is ranked 6th today, so do remember to carry your lucky item around with you. Should you need any assistance, contact me. Cancer is ranked 1st today.
Also, regarding this weekend. We’ll be playing a basketball match together next Saturday. I do hope to see you then. I’ll be bringing your lucky item with me that day, so you do not need to bring your own. I’ll still send your rankings just in case. See you then. I hope you have a great day today. I’ll text you again at lunch. Have a good breakfast.
(Attached is a photo of the Oha Asa rankings for 02/12)
>Midorima (02/12; 12.30PM): Good afternoon, Kagami. Have you been bringing around your lucky item? I hope you have, you don’t need me to remind you the importance of doing all you can to guide luck to you and avoid misfortune. How has your day been so far? I hope it has been well. I went for my run in the morning and had a can of red bean soup after. It was refreshing. It’s currently lunch time. What are you having for lunch? If it’s Nattō, please do not send me a photo. But I guess it’s alright since I won’t be able to smell it through the screen. I’m going to be having lunch with Kise and Aomine later. Really, they have lunch so late and sometimes they don’t even eat breakfast… Murasakibara too… I swear sometimes he doesn’t even eat! He just eats his sweets! It seems like I can only trust Akashi to eat properly. He sends us his meals sometimes. And you too… I know you know how to cook for yourself, so cut down on the fast food! 60 Maji Burgers at one go is seriously not good for you!
You haven’t been replying to your texts all day. I hope you are fine and just busy. Did you bring a comb with you like I told you to? It’s your lucky item today. It’s very important. When you’re free, do reply to my request in my first message.
(Attached is a photo of a can of red bean soup)
—
>Kise (02/12; 9AM): GOOD MORNING KAGAMICCHI! _(:3 」∠)_ Did you sleep well? I had a great sleep! I feel so energized, I’m so ready to take on this day. o(^▽^)o What are you having for breakfast? I’m having some eggs on toast. I missssssss yourrrr cooookkinggg sooo muuucchhhh (´；ω；`)
Oh! Oh! And did you know, at 11:11, if you make a wish, supposedly it’ll come true! Pretty cool right! Kagamicchi, do you have any wishes? I have one at the moment. Reply to me when you wake up!!!!
(Attached are 2 photos. One is Kise’s mirror selfie: one hand holds the toothbrush in his mouth and the other holds his phone. He has a Polaroid photo in his phone cover, if one squints, they can see it’s a photo of the MiraGen and Kuroko taking selfies surrounding a sleeping Kagami. The other is eggs on toast)
>Kise (02/12; 11.11AM): Kagamicchi!!!! You have to come for next week’s basketball match OKAY!!!!!!! Next weekend!!!! We’re playing together!!! Let’s play!!!!!!! I miss you!!!! YOU HAVE TO COME OKAY? IF NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAD (´；Д；`)
>Kise (02/12; 1.20PM): Kagamicchi!! Did you guess what my wish was???? I think I made it pretty obvious!!!!! PLEASE GRANT IT!!!!! Also!!! I just finished my modelling gig! Eating lunch with Aominecchi and Midorimacchi right now!!! Hehe Midorimacchi keeps scolding us for not eating on time and not eating the right meals… I didn’t even do anything wrong today… it was Aominecchi that wanted teriyaki burgers…. (-.-;)y-~~~ Are you busy today??? Midorimacchi and Aominecchi told me you haven’t been responding to their texts either…. REPLY TO ME SOON!!
(Attached is a blurred photo. It seems to have been taken in secret from under the table. The photo seems to be Midorima scolding Aomine, and Aomine plugging his ears with his fingers)
—
>Aomine (02/12; 12.43AM): oi this weekend were playing so get ur ass there
>Aomine (02/12; 3AM) pls?
>Aomine (02/12 11AM): (photo of a pair of running shoes. Aomine seems to be wearing them)
>Aomine (02/12 12.30PM) HE NAGS TOO MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MAKE IT STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
(Attached is a screenshot of Midorima scolding Aomine for not having eaten breakfast)
>Aomine (02/12 1PM): come next weekend ok? did U eat?
(Attached is a photo of a juicy teriyaki burger, with Midorima in the background seemingly saying something. And Kise seems to be… praying to Midorima?)
—
>Murasakibara (02/12; 7AM): gd morning kagachin…. come next weekend ok? can u bake some cookies for me too.. i already ate the last few boxes u gave me..
>Murasakibara (02/12; 9AM); what’s kagachin eating 4 breakfast? im having waffles and pancakes with lots n lots n lots of syrup
(Attached is a photo with waffles and pancakes with lots and lots and lots of syrup)
>Murasakibara (02/12; 11AM); kagachin there? kagachin never take this long to reply.. kagachin baking? or cooking? midochin and akachin called me just now, told me to eat properly. i will. you always tell me too. kagachin coming next weekend?
>Murasakibara (02/12; 1PM); (attached is a photo of cream stew and squid ink pasta)
—
Kagami’s in the middle of reading all the texts—with a smile on his face— before his phone suddenly rings
> Incoming call from Kuroko
“Kuroko. I swear to GOD you’re the only person that’s able to scare me even when you’re not physically here.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Kagami-kun”
“You’re insufferable”
Kagami hears a chuckle on the other side of the line.
“ Anyways, have you read the other 5’s messages?”
“… yeah, I have. And my answer will still be the same. I’ve already told the 6 of you. I’m not going to intrude on your… date. Okay? I know out of everyone that you guys need this time more than ever. After what happened in… Well yeah. So why don’t you losers just enjoy your time together? Why do you even want me there anyways?”
“Kagami-kun, I’ve already told you it’s not a date. And you’re not intruding. We’re just going to be playing basketball and we want you to be there. They want you there too. You’re my light, and we’re the ones that beat them all, remember? They just want to play with you, like old times. And we have all the time in the world now, thanks to you remember? If you’re worried about the PDA, I've already told Kise-kun and Aomine-kun off about it. And Akashi-kun will keep them in line. It’s really just a match.”
“Kuroko… It’s not about that…”
“Please, Kagami-kun. They haven’t seen you in so long. You’re a very important…friend to them, you know? Haven’t you seen them complain in the group chat? It’s like they forget you’re even there. Well. I can’t blame them, you never check the chats or reply.”
“Damn.. DAMN OKAY! OKAY… Okay… Only because I’ve been itching to play! And fine! I’ll check the damn chat. You people already private-message me enough and now I have to reply in the damn chats too… Geez… “
“Thank you, Kagami-kun”
Kagami can hear the smile in Kuroko’s voice, and decides to cave in for once. Once or twice in a while should be fine. And it’s true, he really hasn’t seen them in a while. Not that he’ll ever admit it, but, maybe he has been missing them after all.
—
Kagami continues to check the group chat. So they have been complaining about him.
>> separated by lines united by balls
> ball4lyfe (29/11; 4.55PM): i cannot believe that damn bakagami cancelled on us again
>highest score holder at dance dance revolution! TOP THAT! (29/11; 4.55PM): RIGHT??? KAGAMICCHI’S ALWAYS BAILING OUT LAST SECOND!!!! he always says it’s because he doesn’t wanna crash our date ;(
— 2 messages deleted by user kuroT—
>the great magician (29/11; 4.57PM): Aomine-kun, Kise-kun, Shut Up.
>FUN POLICE (29/11; 4.57PM): I second that
>MAUIBO-MUNCHER (29/11; 4.58PM): but what minechin and kisechin said was true…
>the duality of men (29/11; 4.59PM): Not here.
>ball4lyfe (29/11; 5PM): Yes Sir.
>highest score holder at dance dance revolution! TOP THAT! (29/11; 5PM): Understood Sir.
>the duality of men (29/11; 5PM): Don’t worry too much about him, okay? I’m sure he’ll come around soon :)
>FUN POLICE (29/11; 5PM): Akashi’s right. We just need to trust the process.
>MAUIBO-MUNCHER (29/11; 5PM): @AoD @KiseRyouta lol losers
>FUN POLICE (29/11; 5PM): Murasakibara, that’s not very nice.
>MAUIBO-MUNCHER (29/11; 5.01PM): sorry midochin…
>the great magician (29/11; 5.01PM): lol losers
>the duality of men (29/11; 5.01PM): Tetsuya…
>the great magician (29/11; 5.01PM): (sent a sticker)
>FUN POLICE (29/11; 5.02PM): ??????
Kagami stops reading the minute he sees the sticker. Yeah, that’s enough for today. Who even named this group anyways? Must be Aomine and Kise.
Kagami then begins replying to the messages the MiraGen has sent him, and is already starting to both dread and look forward to next Saturday. He’s not a religious man but he thinks he might just start praying. To which God he didn’t care, just one that could save him from his current predicament.